Division of McMillan

McMillan
Australian House of Representatives Division
Division of McMillan in Victoria, as of the 2016 federal election
Created1949
Abolished2019
NamesakeAngus McMillan
Electors116,200 (2016)
Area8,328 km2 (3,215.5 sq mi)
DemographicRural

The Division of McMillan was an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. It was located in the western part of the Gippsland region, which extends for the length of Victoria's eastern Bass Strait coastline. It included the outer south-eastern Melbourne suburb of Pakenham, and also included the towns of Warragul, Moe, Wonthaggi, Leongatha and Foster. It stretched from Mount Baw Baw and the Baw Baw National Park in the north to Wilsons Promontory, and the Wilsons Promontory National Park in the south. It was the southernmost electoral division in continental Australia. It was replaced by the Division of Monash in 2019.

History

Angus McMillan, the division's namesake

The Division was proclaimed at the redistribution of 11 May 1949, and was first contested at the 1949 election. It was named after Angus McMillan, a mass murderer[1][2] and early European explorer in the Gippsland region responsible for the Gippsland massacres. The seat traded hands between the conservative parties from its creation until Labor finally won it in 1980. The Division has changed hands five times in the last seven Federal elections. The change at the 2004 election was attributed to the redistribution of 29 January 2003, which removed the traditionally Labor-voting cities of Traralgon and Morwell from the Division.[3] This allowed Liberal Russell Broadbent to win the seat once again; he had previously held it from 1996 to 1998. Broadbent was re-elected in the 2007 election.

The 1972 federal election saw Country Party candidate Arthur Hewson win the seat from third place and a primary vote of 16.6%.[4] This is the lowest primary vote for a winning candidate in any federal election; Hewson overtook the Liberal candidate on preferences from the Democratic Labor Party and disendorsed sitting Liberal MP Alex Buchanan, and then defeated the Labor candidate on Liberal preferences.[5]

The division was renamed to the Division of Monash in 2018.

Members

Image Member Party Term Notes
  Geoffrey Brown
(1894–1955) 		Liberal 10 December 1949 –
14 October 1955 		Died in office
  Alex Buchanan
(1905–1985) 		10 December 1955 –
1972 		Lost preselection and then lost seat
  Independent 1972 –
2 December 1972
  Arthur Hewson
(1914–1999) 		Country/National Country 2 December 1972 –
13 December 1975 		Previously a member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Lost seat
  Barry Simon
(1936–2004) 		Liberal 13 December 1975 –
18 October 1980 		Lost seat
  Barry Cunningham
(1939–2018) 		Labor 18 October 1980 –
24 March 1990 		Served as Chief Government Whip in the House under Hawke. Lost seat
  John Riggall
(1941–) 		Liberal 24 March 1990 –
13 March 1993 		Lost seat
  Barry Cunningham
(1939–2018) 		Labor 13 March 1993 –
2 March 1996 		Lost seat
  Russell Broadbent
(1950–) 		Liberal 2 March 1996 –
3 October 1998 		Previously held the Division of Corinella. Lost seat
  Christian Zahra
(1973–) 		Labor 3 October 1998 –
9 October 2004 		Lost seat
  Russell Broadbent
(1950–) 		Liberal 9 October 2004 –
11 April 2019 		Transferred to the Division of Monash after McMillan was abolished in 2019

Election results

Main article: Electoral results for the Division of McMillan
This section is an excerpt from Results of the 2016 Australian federal election in Victoria § McMillan.[edit]
2016 Australian federal election: McMillan[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Russell Broadbent 48,304 47.86 −2.50
Labor Chris Buckingham 29,531 29.26 +4.21
Greens Donna Lancaster 9,810 9.72 +2.10
Family First Nathan Harding 3,418 3.39 +1.38
Animal Justice Jennifer McAdam 3,022 2.99 +2.99
Rise Up Australia Norman Baker 2,786 2.76 +2.09
Liberal Democrats Jim McDonald 2,289 2.27 +2.27
Christians Kathleen Ipsen 1,761 1.74 +1.74
Total formal votes 100,921 94.29 +0.40
Informal votes 6,115 5.71 −0.40
Turnout 107,036 92.11 −2.53
Two-party-preferred result
Liberal Russell Broadbent 56,543 56.03 −5.80
Labor Chris Buckingham 44,378 43.97 +5.80
Liberal hold Swing −5.80

References

  1. ^ Symons, Bec (2 August 2016). "Scottish journalist Cal Flyn tracks relative Angus McMillan, linked to Gippsland massacres". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  2. ^ Flyn, Cal (21 May 2016). "'My relative was a mass murderer of Australia's Gunai people. Can I make amends?'". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  3. ^ Strong, Geoff (11 October 2004). "Three times lucky for seasoned campaigner". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 3 July 2005.
  4. ^ Carr, Adam. "1972 results - Victoria". Psephos. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  5. ^ Colebatch, Tim (2 September 2010). "Wilkie's winning tally of 21 not the smallest ever". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  6. ^ McMillan, VIC, Virtual Tally Room 2016, Australian Electoral Commission.

38°15′58″S 146°03′32″E / 38.266°S 146.059°E / -38.266; 146.059